Red Bull Racing came into the 2024 Formula One season on the highest of highs. Their incessant record breaking almost week in and week out appeared set to continue as Max Verstappen claimed pole in Bahrain by a quarter of a second from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The world champion went on to claim the opening Grand Prix by what remains the largest winning margin still this season. With Perez making it a 1-2, it seemed to most that the Red Bull juggernaut was rolling along where it left off in 2023,

Yet some ‘not so behind the scenes’ trouble was brewing in Milton Keynes as Christian Horner stood accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female employee. The expected paddock uproar ensued with the likes of Zak Brown calling for “transparency.”

 

 

 

Calls for Horner transparency

 “It’s the responsibility ultimately of the organisers of Formula 1, the owners of Formula 1, to make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone involved in this sport are operating in a manner which we all live by,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown calling on the FIA and F1 to get involved in the matter.

Arch rival Toto Wolff took the high ground explaining this would never be possible at Mercedes given the culture the team has adopted. “Maybe [we] have a different starting point or different benchmark because we are Mercedes, we are one of the 10 most important brands in the world and compliance, good governance, transparency, [diversity and inclusion] is all part of what we do every day.”

The Austrian parent company of Red Bull Racing instigated an independent investigation into the complaint by one of the highest level barristers in the country. Their report dismissed the accusations against the Red Bull boss exonerating him completely, yet the female employee lodged an appeal against the decision.

Despite the absolute nature of the ruling, voices in the paddock continued to debate the topic and whether the alleged supporting documents should be made public knowledge. Then as if by divine intervention, the documents considered by the KC were circulated from an anonymous email to around 150 senior members of the F1 paddock.

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Jos Verstappen ‘love trinagle’

The street fighter in Jos Verstappen could be contained no longer as he publicly called for Horner to be removed from his role as team principal, claiming he was “tearing the team apart.” Dr. Helmut Marko was considered by some to be behind the email and it appeared there was the threat he would be suspended by Red Bull for the Australian Grand Prix.

Marko confirmed this possibility was true which then dragged Max Verstappen into the affair. The world champion made it clear he believed Marko was fundamental to Red Bull and his success, making an implied threat he could leave the team if hisAustrian mentor was forced out.

TJ13 and others parsed the tea leaves time and again to discover the reasons for what appeared to be an assassination attempt on one of the most successful F1 team bosses of the modern era. A consensus view began to emerge that the newly empowered Austrian directors were attempting a coup within their F1 team and a concerted effort was being made to exit Horner who was resisting change.

Jos again attempted to re-ignite the fading interest in the Horner scandal when he claimed publicly that the Red Bull boss was ‘playing the victim’ while the real victim was fighting for justice. However, the boil was lanced by the Daily Mail who published a report from a ‘high level source’ inside the racing outfit which claimed Max’s father in fact had a vested interest in the matter.

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Red Bull organisational changes ongoing

“’It seems that Jos was spending time with her while Christian was texting her, which has caused a lot of anger between the men who never really saw eye to eye in the first place’”, The Mail reported the insider as claiming.

Now Dr. Helmut Marko finally addresses the battle behind the scenes at Red Bull and insists that Christian Horner remains in full control of how the world champions operate from day to day. Yet interestingly his revelations reveal decisions are yet to be made following the death of their founder Didi Mateschitz nearly two years ago.

“The death of Dietrich Mateschitz has of course brought changes,” Marko tells ORF. “He was an autocrat, decisions were made quickly. He was a charismatic entrepreneur with a certain vision and someone who was willing to take risks.”

He confirms “everything within the organisation is being rearranged” simply because Mateschitz was irreplaceable by a single individual.

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Marko and Horner appear united

“In terms of structure, Oliver Mintzlaff is responsible for Formula 1 amongst other things. He also does soccer, cycling and various other things. Operationally, Christian Horner is responsible [for Red Bull Racing day to day].

“I would say that the final details have not been finalised yet either, because the system is growing.”

What has become clear is that this is not a battle between Marko and Horner as some first suspected. If anything Dr. Marko appears to have the back of the Red Bull team boss.

The Austrian clearly realises it has been Horner who has taken the ashes of the Jaguar F1 team and built an F1 racing phenomenon and this has given Marko himself a platform at the top table. The simple reality is so long as Red Bull are capable of building a race and championship winning car, The Verstappen’s and Marko are going nowhere.

Verstappen cites ‘problem’ in private

 

 

 

Renault admit FIA decision killed their engine programme

The FIA’s shiny new power unit power unit regulations for the Formula One 2026 season were revealed in June this year. They build on the current V6 Turbo hybrid architecture which drew concern from a number of senior F1 figures.

Gone will be the uber complex heat recovery system yet the battery output will increase three fold to deliver 50% of the power along with the internal combustion engine. This means much bigger batteries which in turn means even more weight from the new PU’s all of which tosses into the long grass the FIA’s ambition to develop lighter and more nimble F1 cars.

As the FIA working party discussed the way forward for 2026, a number present suggested a return to V8 internal combustion beings powered by 100% carbon free fuel. Yet Mercedes in particular argued the future for road car manufacturers was hybrid and supported by Porsche who indicated they would be joining the sport, it was agreed to continue with something akin to the current V6 architecture… READ MORE